Navy withdraws cleanup plan Navy withdraws cleanup plan (September 07, 2001)

Cites need to involve open space district

by Justin Scheck

The U.S. Navy withdrew its controversial plan to clean up a Moffett Field Superfund site last week after learning that a portion of the site--which was thought to be wholly owned by NASA--was found to be owned by the Mid-peninsula Regional Open Space District.

The cleanup of a marsh and stormwater pond diked off from South San Francisco Bay was opposed by environmental groups because it would prevent the site from being restored to tidal marshland.

However, the Navy--which is conducting the cleanup because the wetland is contaminated with runoff from Naval facilities that occurred when Moffett was an active Naval base--had said that NASA's plans to keep the pond in its current use, combined with the added expense of cleaning the pond up to the higher standard required to restore tidal flows made their plan legitimate.

But the recent discovery of the open space district's co-ownership forced the Navy to reconsider the plan, since district representatives have been vocal about their desire to restore tidal flows to the area.

Andrea Muckerman, the Navy's cleanup coordinator, said last week that the withdrawal "is based on the public comment we received."

Muckerman said that after meeting with the open space district, NASA, and the regulatory agencies that regulate the cleanup (including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), "Everyone agrees this is the best step we can take, given that we have to work with the open space district."

The Navy, NASA, and the open-space district will continue to meet to determine the new goals and direction of the cleanup and the preliminary studies that must be conducted before a new plan is formulated.

Praise from environmentalists

"I think it's good," said Lenny Siegel, a Mountain View-based expert on the environmental issues that surround decommissioned military bases. "Obviously, there were problems with the plan. We identified them and we are going to work the Navy."

The involvement of local residents in the Moffett cleanup serves as a nationwide example of how public participation should work in federal cleanups, Siegel said.

"This is how the process works if the community knows what it's doing. ... We kind of expected this. It's an ongoing process, and we still have to come up with some remediation goals," said Siegel.

"My hope is to combine a study of the cleanup with a study of tidal restoration," he added.

Open space district pleased

Craig Britton, the open space district's director, said the Navy's withdrawal is "great news" for his organization.

Britton said he hopes to work with NASA and the Navy to come up with remediation goals that return as much of the site as possible to its natural state.

"We are very interested in seeing it cleaned up to tidal-marsh standards. But we only have 50 acres of a 150-acre site, and I'd like to see more of it restored," he said.

Britton said he has no definite timeline for the cleanup, but he expects to begin meetings with the Navy within the next week.